Nurse is going all the Way for sick children

Photograph Jamie Forbes 11.7.13 MILNGAVIE West Highland Way obelisk. Karen Bissland walking West Highland Way for A&E department at Yorkhill where she is a sister.

Published:12:03Tuesday 23 July 2013

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An A&E nurse at Yorkhill Children’s Hospital is going to walk the West Highland Way this September to raise cash for her ward.

Karen Bissland (52), from Killearn, has been a sister in the A&E department for the past eight years.

She is also well known in Milngavie as she was born and raised there.

The dedicated nurse decided to set herself this challenge of walking 96 miles after suffering a life threatening heart condition two years ago.

Close to death a couple of times, Karen was rushed to A&E when her heart developed a dangerous irregular beat. She had a life-saving operation to remove a section of her heart which was causing the condition.

Karen said: “I wanted to prove to myself that I’m better again. Walking the whole Way is also something I’ve always wanted to do as I’ve only done sections of it so far and it’s a really lovely walk.

“It’s a huge challenge as I’m not an experienced walker although I do walk my dog, he needs a lot of exercise as he’s a big Hungarian Viszla called Oshin.

“Friends will join me along the way for sections so that will make it go quicker.”

The mother of two grown-up children and grandmother to three-year-old Maia, has worked at Yorkhill since she was 18, where she is also an emergency nurse practitioner which allows her to treat and discharge children with injuries.

The cash that she raises will be used to provide DVD TVs for the children and their families in the ward.

Karen added: “Often children and their siblings are faced with a long wait for test results and they get bored.

“If they can watch a cartoon they are happier and their parents don’t get as worried.

“We’ve seen the benefit of distraction therapy for children for ourselves - it really works.”

Karen will set off from Milngavie on Friday, September 13. Her accommodation and bag transfer has been sponsored by Patrick Stevenson who runs a walking business called The Highland Way.